Noble Metal Activation Layer

ABSTRACT

Processes for minimizing contact resistance when using nickel silicide (NiSi) and other similar contact materials are described. These processes include optimizing silicide surface cleaning, silicide surface passivation against oxidation and techniques for diffusion barrier/catalyst layer deposition. Additionally, processes for generating a noble metal (for example platinum, iridium, rhenium, ruthenium, and alloys thereof) activation layer that enables the electroless barrier layer deposition on a NiSi-based contact material are described. The processes may be employed when using NiSi-based materials in other end products. The processes may be employed on silicon-based materials

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application and further claims thebenefit and priority to U.S. Non-Provisional Application Ser. No.12/267,298 filed Nov. 7, 2008 and titled NOBLE METAL ACTIVATION LAYERwith a Notice of Allowance date of Apr. 11, 2011 which is hereinincorporated by reference. This application claims the benefit of andpriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/986,583,filed Nov. 8, 2007, and titled SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE CONTACT INTEGRATIONSCHEME and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/017,490,filed Dec. 28, 2007, and titled NOBLE METAL ACTIVATION LAYER, the entiredisclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to semiconductor processing.More specifically, it relates to ohmic contact to silicon metallizationprocess.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Contact metallization with new contact plug materials (i.e., other thantungsten) is desirable for chip design and manufacturing. Minimizingcontact resistance is further desirable for this application, and anadequate diffusion barrier atop of alternative contact materials mayimprove or enable these applications. In addition, diffusion barriermaterial possessing catalyst properties for electroless plug depositionis desired.

Ultrathin conformal barrier layer formation by electroless deposition isdesirable due to the selective and conformal nature of electrolessdeposition processes. Since the surface of some contact materials arenot catalytic toward direct electroless barrier deposition, techniquesare needed for performing electroless deposition on these materials.

Palladium (Pd) is used for activation in electroless depositionprocesses. However, Pd is undesirable for use with contact metallizationdue to its diffusion into copper and silicon dioxide (SiO₂).

Thus, what are needed are techniques for improving integration ofvarious contact materials in semiconductor devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart describing a process for a contact integrationscheme according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 2A-2E illustrates a contact integration scheme according tovarious embodiments.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an alternative contact integration scheme.

FIGS. 4A-4D illustrate four alternative contact integration schemes fornonvolatile memory.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A detailed description of one or more embodiments is provided belowalong with accompanying figures. The detailed description is provided inconnection with such embodiments, but is not limited to any particularexample. The scope is limited only by the claims and numerousalternatives, modifications, and equivalents are encompassed. Numerousspecific details are set forth in the following description in order toprovide a thorough understanding. These details are provided for thepurpose of example and the described techniques may be practicedaccording to the claims without some or all of these specific details.For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in thetechnical fields related to the embodiments has not been described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description.

According to various embodiments, processes for minimizing contactresistance when using silicon-based materials and metal silicides (MSi,where M is a metal, for example nickel silicide (NiSi), cobalt silicide(CoSi), titanium silicide (TiSi)) and other similar contact materialsare described. These processes include optimizing silicon-surface orsilicide-surface cleaning, silicon or silicide surface passivationagainst oxidation and techniques for diffusion barrier/catalyst layerdeposition. Additionally, processes for generating a noble metal (forexample platinum, iridium, rhenium, ruthenium, rhodium and alloysthereof) activation layer that enables the electroless barrier layerdeposition on a silicon-based or silicide-based contact material aredescribed.

The term “silicon-based” substrate or material as used herein includescrystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous silicon, which may or maynot be doped as an n-type or p-type semiconductive material, as well assilicides. The terms “silicide” and “silicide-based contact material”,as used herein, are materials comprising silicon and one or more metals(for example nickel, cobalt, and titanium, alone or in combination) thatare more electropositive than silicon. In certain silicides the siliconmay be alloyed with germanium (Ge). NiSi, CoSi and TiSi are silicidesthat, according to some embodiments described herein, are used as acontact in a semiconductor processing scheme. The nickel, cobalt ortitanium may be alloyed with rhodium, platinum, iridium, palladium,molybdenum, tungsten, copper, iron, or any combination of these,including, tri-component alloys, quad-component alloys, and highernumber-component alloys. Silicide-based contact materials suitable foruse in various embodiments include MSi, MPtSi, MSi_(1-x)Ge_(x) (whereinx ranges from about 0.01 to about 0.9, or from about 0.2 to about 0.8,or from about 0.3 to about 0.7, or from about 0.4 to about 0.6, or evenabout 0.5), and MIrSi, and any other materials containing a metal and Sias components (e.g., those with >40% atomic ratio). However, althoughuse as a contact material is described, various other uses of silicidesare possible, and the techniques for forming electroless layers and forsilicide preparation and cleaning are applicable to these other uses.

Silicide Integration Process:

A wet process sequence subsequent to contact opening by oxide etching isused to improve silicide integration. The process generally includessilicide surface cleaning/passivation by a composition comprisingfluoride ions (for example dilute hydrogen fluoride (HF)) to removenative oxides from silicide-based contact material surfaces, to preventmetal re-oxidation upon contact with air or oxygen-containingenvironments, and to form a clean silicide-based material. As usedherein the term “clean” means simply that native oxides have beenremoved. In certain embodiments the composition comprising fluoride ionsmay comprise a sulfide salt, for example (NH₄)₂S, alkali metal sulfides(for example Na₂S) and alkaline earth metal sulfides (for examplecalcium sulfide), mixtures of two or more sulfide salts, and organicpolysulfides (R-S_(x)-R′), in concentrations further detailed herein.The composition comprising fluoride ions and sulfide salt may be usedsequentially or in combination. After cleaning silicide-based material,a selective and conformal electroless plating of a thin film comprisingone or more noble metals (Rh, Ir, Ru, Pt or their alloys) atop of onlythe clean silicide-based material serves as a silicide passivationlayer, diffusion barrier, and catalyst layer for metal plug deposition.In certain embodiments the film is an ultra-thin film. As used hereinthe term “thin” means having thickness of at most 500 atomic diametersof the noble metal (or at most 450, 400, 350, 300, 250, 200, 150, 100atomic diameters) but no less than 90, 80, 70, 60 or 51 atomicdiameters. As used here the term “ultra-thin” means having an averagethickness of at most 50 atomic diameters of the noble metal (or at most45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 atomic diameters) but at least 9 (or 8,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or even 1) atomic diameters. The metal plug depositionmay be by electroless deposition, electrochemical deposition, chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), atomic layerdeposition (ALD), any suitable modifications thereof (for exampleplasma-enhanced CVD).

The silicide surface cleaning/passivation process substantially orcompletely removes native surface oxides (e.g., Si_(x)M_(y)O_(z)) andpassivates the silicide surface against re-oxidation. The passivationmay include H-passivation for the Si component and S-passivation for themetal component. The electroless noble metal film serves three differentpurposes for improved process performance: complete silicide surfacepassivation, as a diffusion barrier, and as a catalyst layer forelectroless plug material deposition. The near-neutral or weaklyalkaline bath for electroless plug deposition minimizes any potentialchemical attack on oxide dielectrics.

The composition comprising fluoride ions (for example HF or HF/NH₄Fmixture known as BOE or buffered oxide etch) etches both SiO₂ and MOcomponents for the native surface oxide, and the sulfide salt, ifpresent, serves to passivate the metal (M) portion of the surfaceagainst re-oxidation. An electroless noble metal film is used tocomplete silicide surface passivation against re-oxidation, and to serveas the diffusion barrier and the catalyst for contact plug deposition.

Following the surface etching to remove the native oxides on thesilicide-based contact materials, and prior to electroless deposition ofthe conformal barrier layer, a noble metal activation layer is formed byfirst exposing the clean silicide-based material to a compositioncomprising noble metal-containing ionic species under conditionssufficient to adsorb noble metal-containing ionic species onto the cleansilicide-based material (and any exposed dielectric material surfaceswhen silicide-based materials are to be used as electrical contactmaterials), and then selectively reducing the noble metal-containingionic species to noble metal particles that are able to initiatesubsequent barrier layer formation by electroless deposition. Sinceionic noble metal-containing ionic species may or may not adsorb on theentire surface of the clean silicide-based material, depending ontemperature, concentration, homogeneity of the composition comprisingthe noble metal-containing ionic species, and other factors, “noblemetal activation layer” may exist in a variety of morphologies, rangingfrom a conformal film, to a structure where the noble metal exists asdiscrete particles or regions (with clean silicide-based materialexposed between the particles or regions).

The sequences described herein offer improved performance in severalways. The electroless barrier layer may comprise any metal elements thatcan be deposited out of a liquid composition (either aqueous, primarilyaqueous, primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueous), e.g. Co, Mo, W, Ru, Mn,Ir, Sn, Ni, Rh, Re, and other alloying elements such as B, P.Additionally, Pt can form MPtSi by reacting with MSi, thus improvingcontact performance.

Native Oxide Removal:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart describing a process 100 for a silicideintegration scheme according to various embodiments. FIGS. 2A-2Eillustrate a contact integration scheme according to variousembodiments. A wafer, or more generally, a substrate, can be immersed invarious baths or otherwise exposed to various liquid or gaseouscompositions to perform some of the operations of the process 100.

A pre-rinse step can be optionally performed in operation 102 byimmersing the wafer into deionized water (DI), organic alcohol, orcombination thereof or in sequence, to improve wafer wetting during theHF etch. The organic alcohols that may be used include methanol,ethanol, and isopropyl alcohol (IPA). The pre-rinse may be performed atany suitable temperature, for example room temperature (about 20 toabout 25° C.) and for any suitable time, for example a time ranging fromabout 5 to about 120 seconds, 10 to 110 seconds, 20 to 100 seconds, 30to 90 seconds, 40 to 80 seconds, 50 to 70 seconds, or even about 60seconds.

In operation 104, a wafer or substrate is immersed in a fluorideion-containing composition to remove native oxides on silicide-basedmaterials. FIG. 2A illustrates a portion of a semiconductor substrate200 that includes a contact material 202 (e.g., a NiSi contact material)having a native oxide 204 formed thereon. Diluted aqueous orsemi-aqueous solutions containing HF can be used to remove the nativeoxide 204 on the surface of silicide-based contact materials (e.g.,contact material 202). FIG. 2B illustrates the substrate 200 with thenative oxides 204 removed. Examples of diluted HF containing solutioninclude, but are not limited to an aqueous solutions of HF (inconcentration ranging from about 50 mg/l to about 10 g/l, 100 mg/l toabout 9 g/l, 200 mg/l to about 8 g/l, 300 mg/l to about 7 g/l, 400 mg/lto about 6 g/l, 500 mg/l to about 5 g/l, 600 mg/l to about 4, or 1 g/lto about 3 g/l); an aqueous solution of BOE (buffered oxide etch) havinga mixture of HF with NH₄F; and other solutions. As an example, AirProducts 6:1 BOE solution used in volume concentration ranging fromabout 0.1 ml/l to about 50 ml/l (or 0.2 ml/l to about 40 ml/l, or 0.3ml/l to about 30 ml/l, or 0.4 ml/l to about 20 ml/l, or 0.5 ml/l toabout 10 ml/l) can be used.

The immersion can be carried out at any temperature, or for example roomtemperature (about 20 to about 25° C.), or within temperature rangingfrom about 5 to about 95° C., 10 to 90° C., 15 to 85° C., 20 to 80° C.,25 to 75° C., 30 to 70° C., 35 to 65° C., 40 to 60° C., 45 to 55° C., oreven about 50° C. The immersion time can be any length, and for examplemay vary from 5 seconds to 5 minutes, 10 seconds to 4 minutes, 10seconds to 3 minutes, 10 seconds to 120 seconds, or 10 to 90 seconds.The immersion etch can be performed using any equipment or toolcompatible with the compositions used.

Following the immersion etch step (i.e., operation 104), the wafer orsubstrate may be rinsed using any appropriate agent such as DI water,organic alcohol, combination thereof, or in sequence, as indicated inoperation 106. The rinse duration can have any time, and for example mayvary between 5 seconds to 5 minutes, 15 seconds to 4 minutes, 15 secondsto 3 minutes, 15 seconds to 120 seconds, or 15 to 90 seconds. Any toolset compatible with the compositions used can be used to perform therinsing, e.g. a spinner running at 10-3000 rpm.

Adsorption of Noble Metal-Containing Ionic Species:

In operation 108, the wafer or other substrate is immersed into acomposition comprising noble metal-containing ionic species to causeadsorption of noble metal-containing ionic species onto the cleanedsilicide material. Suitable compositions comprising noblemetal-containing ionic species include aqueous platinum-containingsolutions within a wide pH range, used at room temperature (about 20 toabout 25° C.) and above to achieve adsorption of noble metal-containingionic species on the surface of the wafer or other substrate.

Examples of compositions comprising noble metal-containing ionic speciesinclude, but are not limited to the following (where X is selected fromthe group consisting of Pt, Ru, Ir, Rh and combinations thereof):

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of H₂XCl₆ in concentration ranging from about 1 to about 100millimolar (or 2 to 90 millimolar, or 3 to 80 millimolar, or 4 to 70millimolar, or 5 to 60 millimolar, or 6 to 50 millimolar, or 7 to 40millimolar, or 8 to 30 millimolar, or 9 to 20 millimolar, or even 10 to15 millimolar), mixed with HF in concentration ranging from 10 to about100 mg/l (or 20 to 90 mg/l, or 30 to about 80 mg/l, or 40 to about 70mg/l, or 50 to about 60 mg/l, or even 50 mg/l), and an optionalanti-oxidant, such as compounds selected from ascorbic acid, quercitin,phenanthroline, nicotinamide, pyruvic acid, glycolic acid, and succinicacid, salts of any of these, derivatives of any of these, and mixturesof two or more of these, in concentration ranging from about 0.1 toabout 100 millimolar (or 0.2 to about 90 millimolar, or 0.3 to about 80millimolar, or 0.4 to about 70 millimolar, or 0.5 to about 60millimolar, or 0.6 to about 40 millimolar, or 0.7 to about 30millimolar, or 0.8 to about 20 millimolar, or 0.9 to about 10millimolar, or 1 to about 5 millimolar, or even about 3 millimolar;

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of H₂XCl₆ in concentration ranging from about 1 to about 100millimolar (or 2 to 90 millimolar, or 3 to 80 millimolar, or 4 to 70millimolar, or 5 to 60 millimolar, or 6 to 50 millimolar, or 7 to 40millimolar, or 8 to 30 millimolar, or 9 to 20 millimolar, or even 10 to15 millimolar), mixed with a BOE (e.g., Air Products 6:1 BOE) inconcentration ranging from about 0.5 to about 10 ml/l can be used, andacetic acid in concentration ranging from about 5 to about 500millimolar (or 10 to about 400 millimolar, 20 to about 300 millimolar,30 to about 200 millimolar, or 40 to about 100 millimolar, or 50 to 70millimolar) and pH adjusted to pH ranging from about 3 to about 6 with amineral acid such as HCl, H₂SO₄, and the like, and a quaternary ammoniumsalt, such as tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and the like, andthe optional addition of an antioxidant;

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of H₂XCl₆ in concentration ranging from about 1 to about 100millimolar (or 2 to 90 millimolar, or 3 to 80 millimolar, or 4 to 70millimolar, or 5 to 60 millimolar, or 6 to 50 millimolar, or 7 to 40millimolar, or 8 to 30 millimolar, or 9 to 20 millimolar, or even 10 to15 millimolar), mixed with boric acid in concentration ranging fromabout 5 to about 500 millimolar (or 10 to about 400 millimolar, 20 toabout 300 millimolar, 30 to about 200 millimolar, or 40 to about 100millimolar, or 50 to 70 millimolar), and pH adjusted to pH ranging fromabout 8 to about 12 with a quaternary ammonium salt, such as tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and the like, and the optional addition of anantioxidant;

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of XCl₂ in concentration ranging from about 1 to about 100millimolar (or 2 to 90 millimolar, or 3 to 80 millimolar, or 4 to 70millimolar, or 5 to 60 millimolar, or 6 to 50 millimolar, or 7 to 40millimolar, or 8 to 30 millimolar, or 9 to 20 millimolar, or even 10 to15 millimolar), mixed with a base such as ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH) toadjust pH to range from about 11 to about 13;

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of H₂X(OH)₆ in concentration ranging from about 1 to about 100millimolar (or 2 to 90 millimolar, or 3 to 80 millimolar, or 4 to 70millimolar, or 5 to 60 millimolar, or 6 to 50 millimolar, or 7 to 40millimolar, or 8 to 30 millimolar, or 9 to 20 millimolar, or even 10 to15 millimolar), mixed with a base such as ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH) orTMAH to adjust pH to range from about 9.5 to about 13.

The time duration for the adsorption step can vary in the range of about5 seconds to about 5 minutes (or 10 seconds to 4 minutes, 10 seconds to3 minutes, 10 seconds to 120 seconds, or 15 to 120). In operation 110,an optional DI rinsing with DI water, organic alcohol, or mixturethereof can be added at the end of the adsorption step (i.e., operation108).

Noble Metal Particle or Activation Layer Formation:

In operation 112, adsorbed noble metal-containing ions are reduced onthe cleaned NiSi-based materials 202 to form a noble metal activationlayer 210 (FIGS. 2C, 2D), sometimes referred to herein as a catalystlayer (in the sense that it allows noble metal to be deposited ontosilicide surfaces). Aqueous solutions of chemical reducing agents can beused to selectively reduce the noble metal-containing ionic species tonoble metal particles, in certain embodiments forming a noble metallayer 210, to serve as the catalyst layer for subsequent electrolessbarrier layer deposition. Discontinuous noble metal particles as well ascontinuous noble metal film (or combinations thereof) can serve aseffective catalysts.

Reducing agent solutions include, but are not limited to:

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of an alkali metal borohydride (for example NaBH₄) or analkaline earth metal borohydride in concentration ranging from about0.01 to about 1 molar (0.02 to about 0.9 molar, or 0.03 to about 0.8molar, or 0.04 to about 0.7 molar, or 0.05 to about 0.6 molar, or 0.06to about 0.5 molar, 0.07 to about 0.4 molar, 0.08 to about 0.3 molar,0.09 to about 0.2 molar, or even 0.1 molar) mixed with NaOH inconcentration ranging from about 0.01 to about 1 molar (0.02 to about0.9 molar, or 0.03 to about 0.8 molar, or 0.04 to about 0.7 molar, or0.05 to about 0.6 molar, or 0.06 to about 0.5 molar, 0.07 to about 0.4molar, 0.08 to about 0.3 molar, 0.09 to about 0.2 molar, or even 0.1molar);

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of a quaternary ammonium borohydride salt, such as TMABH₄ inconcentration ranging from about 0.01 to about 2 molar (or 0.02 to about1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04 to about 1.4 molar, or0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1 molar, 0.07 to about 0.8molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about 0.4 molar, 0.1 to about0.2), mixed with a quaternary ammonium hydroxide such as TMAH inconcentration ranging from about 0.01 to about 2 molar (or 0.02 to about1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04 to about 1.4 molar, or0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1 molar, 0.07 to about 0.8molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about 0.4 molar, 0.1 to about0.2);

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of a quaternary ammonium boride salt, such as DMAB, inconcentration ranging from about 0.01 to about 2 molar (or 0.02 to about1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04 to about 1.4 molar, or0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1 molar, 0.07 to about 0.8molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about 0.4 molar, 0.1 to about0.2), mixed with TMAH in concentration ranging from about 0.01 to about2 molar (or 0.02 to about 1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04to about 1.4 molar, or 0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1molar, 0.07 to about 0.8 molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about0.4 molar, 0.1 to about 0.2);

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of H₃PO₂ in concentration ranging from about 0.01 to about 2molar (or 0.02 to about 1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04to about 1.4 molar, or 0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1molar, 0.07 to about 0.8 molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about0.4 molar, 0.1 to about 0.2), mixed with TMAH in concentration rangingfrom about 0.01 to about 2.0 molar (or 0.02 to about 1.8 molar, or 0.03to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04 to about 1.4 molar, or 0.05 to about 1.2molar, or 0.06 to about 1 molar, 0.07 to about 0.8 molar, 0.08 to about0.6 molar, 0.09 to about 0.4 molar, 0.1 to about 0.2);

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of glycoxylic acid in concentration ranging from 0.01 to about2 molar (or 0.02 to about 1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04to about 1.4 molar, or 0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1molar, 0.07 to about 0.8 molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about0.4 molar, 0.1 to about 0.2), mixed with a quaternary ammonium salt suchas TMAH in concentration ranging from about 0.01 to about 2 molar (or0.02 to about 1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04 to about1.4 molar, or 0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1 molar, 0.07 toabout 0.8 molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about 0.4 molar, 0.1to about 0.2);

an aqueous, a primarily aqueous, a primarily non-aqueous, or non-aqueoussolution of hydrazine (N₂H₄) in concentration ranging from 0.01 to about2 molar (or 0.02 to about 1.8 molar, or 0.03 to about 1.6 molar, or 0.04to about 1.4 molar, or 0.05 to about 1.2 molar, or 0.06 to about 1molar, 0.07 to about 0.8 molar, 0.08 to about 0.6 molar, 0.09 to about0.4 molar, 0.1 to about 0.2), with pH adjusted, by mineral acids such asHCl, H₂SO₄ or bases such as ammonium hydroxide or TMAH, to be within therange of pH 8 to 12.

The operating temperature of the reducing solutions may range from about20 to about 95° C. (or from about 20 to about 90° C., or from about 30to about 80° C. or from about 40 to about 80° C. or from about 50 toabout 70° C. or even about 60° C.), with time duration ranging fromabout 5 seconds to about 5 minutes, or from about 5 seconds to about3minutes, or from about 50 seconds to about 5 minutes, or from about 1minute to about 2 minutes. A DI water or organic alcohol, or mixturethereof, or sequential rinse may be carried out at room temperature(about 20 to about 25° C.) in operation 114 following the noble metalcatalyst formation step, with a duration ranging from about 5 seconds toabout 5 minutes (or from about 5 seconds to about 3 minutes, or fromabout 50 seconds to about 5 minutes, or from about 1 minute to about 2minutes).

Electroless Barrier Layer Deposition:

In operation 116, a barrier layer is deposited. FIG. 2C illustrates adeposited barrier layer 206. An electroless barrier layer 206 can bedeposited on silicide-based contact materials 202 following the noblemetal catalyst formation (210). Any materials or alloys that can bedeposited using electroless deposition may be used, and examplesinclude, but are not limited to CoWP, CoMoB, CoMoBP, Ru, Rh, Pt, Co, Ni,Mn, Sn, and Ir and various alloys thereof. The electroless barrier layercan use the noble metal catalyst or activation layer as an activationlayer for an electroless plating bath. The electroless bath may includeor not include various components, such as metal species (e.g., thoselisted above) for deposition, reducing agents, complexing agents,stabilizers, surfactants, etc.

In some embodiments, the barrier layer 206 is a conformal barrier layer206 that conforms to topography of a patterned substrate. Additionally,in other embodiments, the electroless barrier layer 206 may also form onportions of a cleaned silicon-based material (e.g., the silicide contact202) not having the activation layer 210 formed thereon. For example,FIG. 2E illustrates a barrier layer 206 forming on the contact materials202. The activation layers 210 provide anchors to provide sufficientadhesion for the electrolessly formed barrier layer 206. In thisembodiment, the barrier layer 206 is formed through conversion(bridging) of nuclei formed on top of the activation layers 210. Asubsequent process may be to anneal the substrate 200 so as to formohmic contacts through Co—Pt—Si or Ni—Pt—Si alloying.

Contact Fill:

In operation 118, the contact fill is performed. FIG. 2D illustrates thesubstrate 200 including a plug 208. Any conductive material, for examplecopper, aluminum, tungsten, alloys, and other materials may be used toform the plug 208. Contact fill can be performed using electrolessdeposition, electrochemical deposition, CVD, PVD, ALD, any combinationor modification of these (such as plasma-enhanced CVD or any othersuitable technique).

Contaminant Removal During Integration:

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate an alternative contact fill integrationscheme. The techniques described herein can be performed before andafter operation 104 (cleaning to remove native oxides) described herein.As shown in FIG. 3A, a masking material 302 is deposited on the sidewalls of a dielectric 304. The masking material 302 may be, for example,a hydrophobic masking material such as one of the silanol-based maskingmaterials described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/647,882,filed on Dec. 29, 2006 and entitled “Substrate Processing Including AMasking Layer”, which is herein incorporated by reference.Alternatively, the masking material 302 may be an amphiphilic layer suchas is described in Provisional U.S. patent application No. 60/949,773,filed on Jul. 13, 2007, and entitled “Methods for Coating a Substratewith an Amphiphilic Compound”, which is herein incorporated byreference.

After operation 104, contaminants 306 may be left on the dielectric 304.If masking material 302 is deposited on the dielectric 304, the maskingmaterial 302 can trap the contaminants 306. The contaminants 306 canthen be removed by removing the masking material 302. In anotherembodiment, the masking material 302 can impede contaminants 306attachment by modifying the surface binding properties, includingsurface chemical groups and zeta potential, of the dielectric 304.

The noble metal activation layer and silicide materials and methodsdescribed herein be employed for electroless or electroplatingdeposition of one or more contact metal electrodes on silicon substratesfor solar cell and flat panel displays, as well as other semiconductorstructures. The silicon substrates may be crystalline, polycrystalline,or amorphous Si. For example, surface activation of a p-type or n-typeSi and subsequent metal contact electrode deposition using electrolessor electroplating deposition methods may be employed. For thesealternative applications, noble metal activation atop of Si is initiatedvia the displacement reaction in which the noble metal deposition isaccompanied by Si dissolution. High conductivity and low costinterconnect for these applications can be made by subsequentelectroless or electroplating deposition of barrier metal such as Co orits alloys and subsequent electroless or electroplating deposition ofCu.

FIGS. 4A-D illustrate cross-sectional views of certain details of fournonvolatile memory structures that can be formed using techniquesdescribed herein. Various other memory and other types of semiconductordevices may also be formed using these techniques. Embodiment 400 ofFIG. 4A is a “metal-insulator-metal”, or “MIM” structure integrating asilicide. For example, embodiment 400 may be a capacitor or memoryelement and may be part of a larger semiconductor device. Embodiment 400includes a silicide 202, a noble metal activation layer 210, anelectroless noble metal bottom electrode 206, an oxide layer 212, ametal top electrode 214, and a metal interconnect 208.

The noble metal activation layer 210 may be a platinum, ruthenium,rhenium, rhodium, iridium, etc. activation layer formed using techniquesdescribed herein. The silicide 202 may be a nickel or other silicide,for example cobalt or titanium. The oxide layer 212 may be a metal orother oxide, such as titanium oxide, aluminum oxide, nickel oxide, etc.or combinations of layers. In one embodiment, the oxide layer 212 is aresistive oxide layer that changes from a low resistance state to a highresistance state when a first voltage is applied across it and from thehigh resistance state to the low resistance state when a second voltageis applied across it. For example, in a high resistance state, theresistive oxide layer 212 may have a value of 0, while in a lowresistance state, the resistive oxide layer 212 has a value of 1.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a traditional transistor embodiment500, having two regions of silicide 202 a, 202 b, two transistors 220 a,220 b, two noble metal activation layers 210 a, 210 b, and twoelectroless noble metal electrodes 206 a and 206 b, as well as an oxide212 and a protective layer of a material 218 such as silicon nitride.The embodiment 500 may be a memory cell and the oxide 212 may be aresistive oxide as described above.

FIG. 4C illustrates a cross-sectional view of another structuralembodiment 600, including dual metal interconnects 208 a, 208 b, dualnoble metal activation layers 210 a, 210 b, and dual electroless noblemetal barrier layers 206 a, 206 b. Structure 600 includes an oxide 212,which may be a resistive oxide to form a resistive memory cell, and asilicon nitride or other protective layer 218.

Embodiment 700 of FIG. 4D is similar to embodiment 400 of FIG. 4A,except that it is a stacked, dual memory element (e.g., two-bit)version, having dual silicide regions 202 a, 202 b, dual noble metalactivation layers 210 a, 210 b, noble metal electrodes 206 a, 206 b,oxides 212 a, 212 b (which may be resistive oxides), and dual metallayers 214 a, 214 b. A metal electrode 208, for example copper, connectsthe two memory elements and completes the structure of embodiment 700.

Although the foregoing examples have been described in some detail forpurposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not limited tothe details provided. For example, the shapes of the various regions ofoxide, silicide, metal, and the like in FIGS. 2 and 4, and the thicknessof various layers, such as the activation layer and masking layers inFIG. 3, may or may not be symmetrical from device to device, or evenwithin the same device. There are many alternative ways of implementingthe invention. The disclosed examples are illustrative and notrestrictive.

1. A method comprising: depositing a masking material on a semiconductordevice structure formed from a dielectric material and a silicon-basedmaterial, wherein the masking material is deposited on the dielectricmaterial; cleaning the silicon-based material; removing the maskingmaterial from the dielectric material; exposing the silicon-basedmaterial to a composition comprising noble metal-containing ionicspecies, thereby forming a cleaned silicon-based material havingadsorbed noble metal-containing species thereon; reducing all or part ofthe adsorbed noble metal-containing ionic species to form noble metalparticles or a film of noble metal; and forming an electroless barrierlayer over the noble metal.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein formingthe electroless barrier layer further comprises forming the electrolessbarrier layer over any portions of the cleaned silicon-based materialnot having noble metal thereon.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein thesilicon-based material is a silicide-based material selected from thegroup consisting of compounds consisting essentially of silicon with oneor more elements that are more electropositive than silicon selectedfrom the group consisting of rhodium, platinum, iridium, nickel,palladium, molybdenum, tungsten, copper, iron, cobalt, and anycombination of these.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein thesilicide-based material is a nickel silicide-based material selectedfrom the group consisting of NiSi, NiPtSi, NiSi_(1-x)Ge_(x), and NilrSi,wherein x ranges from about 0.01 to about 0.9.
 5. The method of claim 1wherein the forming a conformal electroless barrier layer over the noblemetal particles or film comprises electroless plating of a film of anoble metal or alloys thereof over the noble metal particles or filmthereon.
 6. The method of claim 1 further comprising a pre-rinse stepperformed prior to cleaning the silicon-based material.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the forming an electroless barrier layer over the noblemetal comprises electrolessly depositing a barrier layer selected fromthe group consisting of CoWP, CoMoB, CoMoBP, Ru, Rh, Ir and alloysthereof.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising depositing amasking material on the silicon-based material and removing the maskingmaterial prior to the cleaning of the silicon-based material.
 9. Amethod of semiconductor processing, comprising: cleaning a silicon-basedmaterial; depositing a masking material on a semiconductor devicestructure formed from a dielectric material and a silicon-basedmaterial, wherein the masking material is deposited on the dielectricmaterial; exposing the clean silicon-based material to a compositioncomprising noble metal-containing ionic species, thereby forming anadsorbed noble metal-containing species thereon; reducing all or part ofthe adsorbed noble metal-containing ionic species to form a film ofnoble metal; and forming an electroless barrier layer over the film ofnoble metal.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein forming the electrolessbarrier layer further comprises forming the electroless barrier layerover any portions of the clean silicon-based material not having thenoble metal film thereon.
 11. The method of claim 9 wherein thesilicon-based material is a silicide-based material selected from thegroup consisting of compounds consisting essentially of silicon with oneor more elements that are more electropositive than silicon selectedfrom the group consisting of rhodium, platinum, iridium, nickel,palladium, molybdenum, tungsten, copper, iron, cobalt, and anycombination of these.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein thesilicide-based material is a nickel silicide-based material selectedfrom the group consisting of NiSi, NiPtSi, NiSi_(1-x)Ge_(x), and NilrSi,wherein x ranges from about 0.01 to about 0.9.
 13. The method of claim 9wherein the forming a conformal electroless barrier layer over the noblemetal particles or film comprises electroless plating of a film of anoble metal or alloys thereof over the noble metal particles or filmthereon.
 14. The method of claim 9, further comprising a pre-rinse stepperformed prior to cleaning the silicon-based material.
 15. The methodof claim 9 wherein the forming an electroless barrier layer over thenoble metal comprises electrolessly depositing a barrier layer selectedfrom the group consisting of CoWP, CoMoB, CoMoBP, Ru, Rh, Ir and alloysthereof.